Off-White x Air Jordan Thread - Rest In Peace Virgil Abloh

You’re absolutely correct. You’re still seeing the exposed foam and deconstructed-look aesthetic he popularized 4+ years ago being implemented on a lot of designs today, even outside Nike/JB.

Tbh, Nike/JB are in a bad place with their top collaborators since, in the past month, Travis has basically been cancelled for the near future, Sacai has seemingly lost all of its hype (even the Kaws blazer low collab isn’t really reselling for much), and Virgil is now dead.

I know most ppl would probably agree with me here but I’d love to see them go back to their roots and release more OG cws in larger quantities.

Most of those aspects were done before by Nike as far as the 70s and 80s
 
I wonder if NIKE will still release his Air Force mids? Or black cement 4

which would probably be his last design?

This actually brings up a good point…These releases are sometimes backlogged in excess of a year or longer…Good chance he has a bunch of designs in the pipeline…Totally feasible that he was actively working on stuff that wouldn’t have been seen until 2023…

Which in turn means there’s likely some stuff that was finished and in production…Like the AF1 mids for example…Does Nike drop this stuff? Complicated deal for everyone involved I’m sure…
 
Most of those aspects were done before by Nike as far as the 70s and 80s

Right but he brought them to prominence by including those details on newer models or older models that didn’t have them. He even flipped the synthetic fabric uppers on the Prestos to make them look like boat shoe uppers.
 
We're saying basically the same things, just perhaps I'm more skeptical of Yeezy's lasting appeal. And by "lasting," I'm talking about 20 years from now, not two or five years. Yeah, loads of people now wear Js who never saw Mike play. But they know he's the greatest of all time and if they want to go back and watch the guy, they can. And it's still mind blowing. MJ endures because of the game, and his game. Kanye is almost like a cartoon at this point. All I'm saying is, there's way more of a chance that kids in 20 years will look at Kanye as some old guy who was a complete clown. But it's also possible the "Yeezy" brand by then will be just as big on the strength of the brand, regardless of Kanye himself. Quote this post back to me in 2042 and we'll see where we are LOL


I could be wrong, but I don’t think Kanye’s appeal will last long term. Not to mention his Adidas stuff is ugly. He had some black boots on at the Lakers game that looked like 🗑

Funny enough, I’m not trying to die on the Kanye hill defending him since I actually dislike most of his newer Adidas designs and I think his outbursts are not funny anymore and are actually just sad/pathetic (and I LOVE the dudes old music btw). As for the shoes, I do think 350s (and 700s to a lesser extent) have become a classic “new model”staple in a way that Nike/JB have not been able to accomplish with a new, non-retro model. My suspicion is this is simply because Nike/JB makes their bread and butter selling retro products for casual wear and performance models that don’t have much wearability for casual use.. Not a lot of room for a new models for casual wear. They probably have the resources to develop and market one but there probably isn’t an economic incentive to do so since people like us drop $$$ on so many retro releases lol

…Just my theory haha
 
This actually brings up a good point…These releases are sometimes backlogged in excess of a year or longer…Good chance he has a bunch of designs in the pipeline…Totally feasible that he was actively working on stuff that wouldn’t have been seen until 2023…

Which in turn means there’s likely some stuff that was finished and in production…Like the AF1 mids for example…Does Nike drop this stuff? Complicated deal for everyone involved I’m sure…

im pretty sure there is a Off White Jordan 6 coming out, he said making those would be easy and I’m sure he created the design already. I’d love to see the execution of them. Those were his favorite Jordan too so i see that being one of the last Off White Jordans. I’m sure he also had a concept for the Jordan 3 as well.

i wonder where Nike will go from here. With Travis being possibly cancelled and Virgil’s passing, Nike’s 2 main hype machines are now in limbo. I don’t know of any other artists that can generate that kind of hype and interest
 
im pretty sure there is a Off White Jordan 6 coming out, he said making those would be easy and I’m sure he created the design already. I’d love to see the execution of them. Those were his favorite Jordan too so i see that being one of the last Off White Jordans. I’m sure he also had a concept for the Jordan 3 as well.

i wonder where Nike will go from here. With Travis being possibly cancelled and Virgil’s passing, Nike’s 2 main hype machines are now in limbo. I don’t know of any other artists that can generate that kind of hype and interest

A posthumous Virgil, OW AJ 6 release will be a bloodbath… SNKRS might as well just let us preorder our Ls.
 
Funny enough, I’m not trying to die on the Kanye hill defending him since I actually dislike most of his newer Adidas designs and I think his outbursts are not funny anymore and are actually just sad/pathetic (and I LOVE the dudes old music btw). As for the shoes, I do think 350s (and 700s to a lesser extent) have become a classic “new model”staple in a way that Nike/JB have not been able to accomplish with a new, non-retro model. My suspicion is this is simply because Nike/JB makes their bread and butter selling retro products for casual wear and performance models that don’t have much wearability for casual use.. Not a lot of room for a new models for casual wear. They probably have the resources to develop and market one but there probably isn’t an economic incentive to do so since people like us drop $$$ on so many retro releases lol

…Just my theory haha
this 100% true, but then again those original designs are kind entrenched in the 90s design language. something about a time period that cant be replicated, its like golden age hip hop. The Jordan Brand is more of a household name, but Tinker put his heart and soul into those designs and it shows. even his less popular models like the 7s and 10s (not popular amongst kids) are such iconic designs.
 
this 100% true, but then again those original designs are kind entrenched in the 90s design language. something about a time period that cant be replicated, its like golden age hip hop. The Jordan Brand is more of a household name, but Tinker put his heart and soul into those designs and it shows. even his less popular models like the 7s and 10s (not popular amongst kids) are such iconic designs.

Yeah, I think there is definitely something to be said that the designs kinda died after that OG run MJ wore. Don’t get me wrong, I think there are some performance beasts (to this day, I LOVE playing ball in my XX9s) but none of them are very wearable in terms of casual wear. I wish JB and honestly Nike as a whole were able to bring that high standard of new model design back again. It seems like every new casual wear model over the past 15 or so years has been pretty forgettable. Even the Air Max line has turned into complete trash which is ironic since the earlier models are some of the greatest sneakers ever designed.

/rant since I’m totally OT haha
 
People do payment planes with new phones and macs but then sneakers its “oh my”. :lol:

Obv different since phones and laptops are more “essential” but only using that example PURELY from a price perspective. Regardless if its around $1000 you should probably just pay it outright. Why take the hit over 3 months when you can just get it over with.
Even then you can phones and laptops aren’t essential especially if you buying it only for the brand $2000 Mac book or a $1000 iPhone when there’s definitely cheaper options
 
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continuing my week long celebration of Virgil’s life by breaking out another one of his creations
 
You’re absolutely correct. You’re still seeing the exposed foam and deconstructed-look aesthetic he popularized 4+ years ago being implemented on a lot of designs today, even outside Nike/JB.

Tbh, Nike/JB are in a bad place with their top collaborators since, in the past month, Travis has basically been cancelled for the near future, Sacai has seemingly lost all of its hype (even the Kaws blazer low collab isn’t really reselling for much), and Virgil is now dead.

I know most ppl would probably agree with me here but I’d love to see them go back to their roots and release more OG cws in larger quantities.
I would be surprised if a lot of these shoes reach Nike yeezy status as far as will we ever see them again OW, Travis , sacai , etc
 
Yeah, I think there is definitely something to be said that the designs kinda died after that OG run MJ wore. Don’t get me wrong, I think there are some performance beasts (to this day, I LOVE playing ball in my XX9s) but none of them are very wearable in terms of casual wear. I wish JB and honestly Nike as a whole were able to bring that high standard of new model design back again. It seems like every new casual wear model over the past 15 or so years has been pretty forgettable. Even the Air Max line has turned into complete trash which is ironic since the earlier models are some of the greatest sneakers ever designed.

/rant since I’m totally OT haha
The 1st few models of Jordan's were no where near as popular when they released as they are now. You can read how the og releases were easily obtainable and often on discount. Jordan's popularity grew over the course of his releases where as Ye's popularity has been in a decline since he started with Adidas. Kanye will still have a demand down the road though imo.
 
The 1st few models of Jordan's were no where near as popular when they released as they are now. You can read how the og releases were easily obtainable and often on discount. Jordan's popularity grew over the course of his releases where as Ye's popularity has been in a decline since he started with Adidas. Kanye will still have a demand down the road though imo.

I agree in general with this but Kanye has sold millions of 350s at this point as well-he wouldn’t be a billionaire if he hadn’t been able to reach a wider audience. You’re right about OGs but Js past the 14s just don’t seem to be very popular. That’s probably because their designs are nowhere near as groundbreaking as the initial 1-14 run (I’m not even trying to hate as I LOVE 17s and wish they would produce more of them). The Jordan line has fallen off from a casual wear standpoint and seems to be focused mainly on performance, which is great for playing ball but the vast majority of them are trash from a casual wear standpoint. This simply wasn’t the case with the earlier models. Hell, even Travis at his peak couldn’t save the Air Jordan XXX3s lol
 
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I agree in general with this but Kanye has sold millions of 350s at this point as well-he wouldn’t be a billionaire if he hadn’t been able yo reach a wider audience. You’re right about OGs but Js past the 14s just don’t seem to be very popular. That’s probably because their designs are nowhere near as groundbreaking as the initial 1-14 run (I’m not even trying to hate as I LOVE 17s and wish they would produce more of them). The Jordan line has called off from a casual wear standpoint and seems to be focused mainly on performance, which is great for playing ball but the vast majority of them are trash from a casual wear standpoint. This simply wasn’t the case with the earlier models. Hell, even Travis at his peak couldn’t save the Air Jordan XXX3s lol
At the time of their release all Jordan's were performance models 1-14 with casual translation.
Kanye's appeal is not now what it was is my point.
 
I would be surprised if a lot of these shoes reach Nike yeezy status as far as will we ever see them again OW, Travis , sacai , etc

The Virgil-designed Chi 1s honestly might. I remember someone here once pointed out how those 2017 OW Chis basically skyrocketed the resale values of 2015 Chis. Those OW Chi 1s were special, wish I paid the resale ticket after launch since I know I’m never owning a pair, especially now.
 
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